For the rest, each kept himself going by means of his own earnings; one had sent footwear to the West Indies, and another had made the bride-bed for the burgomaster's daughter; they maintained themselves as a caste and looked down with contempt upon the people.

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(noun) - (1) In Papal times in Britain, it was considered an act of ill-luck for a newly-married couple to retire for the night until the bridal bed had been blessed. --Edwin and Mona Radford's Encyclopædia of Superstitions, 1949 (2) The pride of the clergy and the bigotry of the laity was such that newly-married people were made to wait till midnight after the marriage day before they would pronounce a benediction, unless they were handsomely paid for it, and the couple durst not undress without it, on pain of excommunication. --Francis Blomefield's Topographical History of Norfolk, c. 1752